Wisconsin Car Accident Laws

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Being atop Wisconsin car accident laws can help you handle and negotiate car accident repercussions and injury settlements. If you’re aware of things to be done after a car accident in Wisconsin, such as the time available for filing a claim and compensation types available, you would be able to withstand the ordeal better.

Let’s briefly delve into some of the legal aspects of car accidents in Wisconsin.

Responsibilities After a Car Accident

As per Wisconsin law, drivers embroiled in a car crash have certain responsibilities and duties. The driver must stop at the accident scene, offer reasonable help to the injured (including making transportation arrangements), call the police and report the accident, and furnish contact information and necessary details to the investigating officer.

If the law enforcement personnel finishes the accident report, a separate report need not be filed by the driver.

Statute of Limitations

The affected individual has a maximum of three years for filing a personal injury lawsuit, irrespective of the nature of the accident and its consequences. The clock starts ticking from the accident date or injury discovery. If you were not directly involved in the accident but your relative died as a result, you get two years for filing a lawsuit. In this scenario, the clock starts ticking from the date or time of death.

Learning how the statute of limitations is applicable to your Wisconsin car crash lawsuit is vital. In case the deadline has expired, your case would likely get dismissed. And even if you think your automobile wreckage claim would get resolved with the help of an insurance settlement, you must still talk to a personal injury lawyer about your case.

Compensation Contingency

Wisconsin tort law allows an injured person to avail financial compensation for the injuries incurred. A tort is basically a wrongful deed causing injury to another individual. All torts entail breach of duty, injury, and cause.

When a car crash takes place in Wisconsin, the injured individual can seek damages from the individual who caused the mishap. However, ascertaining liability isn’t always simple. The injured individual should prove the other individual was directly responsible.

Damages Available

There are multiple kinds of damages that Wisconsin car accident victims can seek during a lawsuit. Drivers can also sue for suffering and pain caused by to the accident. Compensatory damages are offered to injured individuals to help them recover completely. Punitive damages could be applicable in cases wherein intent could be proven.

Different Car Accident Claim Rules

Car accident claims in Wisconsin that involve government entities have unique sets of rules. In case your crash was caused by a government employee or vehicle, different laws could then be applicable to the injury lawsuit.

Traffic accidents involving government entities could be in the form of a truck or bus operated and owned by a government entity, a government employee driving a vehicle owned by the government, or hazardous highway conditions such as improperly marked construction zones or roadside hazards.

A legal concept called “sovereign immunity” safeguards government employees and agencies from a lot of the liability. However, state and federal governments have certain laws for waiving such immunity. Due to this waiver’s conditions, government entities have stringent procedural rules for lawsuits that have been filed against them. Not following them properly could result in the victim losing his right for claiming damages.

Filing a lawsuit against the government is no minor feat. And this is why you need a car accident lawyer in Wisconsin to kickstart the process and guide you so that you end up successfully claiming the damages.